Fall
by SapphirePetal
Summary: In which Byakuya Togami ponders his situation before the chaos of the world hits him once again (A different version of DR3's Future Arc's first episode)
1. Byakuya Togami

He sighed as he looked down at the cup of tea in his hands.

When he had escaped that damn school, this had not been the mess he had been expecting.

He gently put down the cup of tea in his hands, his desire for a once cherished past time all but diminished. Instead, his gaze was soon pulled to the window beside him, his mind distant as he mindlessly stared at the ocean beneath him.

It made sense in a twisted way sadly. Their fear, their anger, the belief of betrayal that seemed to hang in the room when he had stepped into it all those hours ago.

It all made sense.

Why should they trust Makoto? He had kidnapped sixteen of the most dangerous individuals in the world from underneath their noses. He had hidden them away, protecting them from the deaths they had so rightfully deserved.

It looked suspicious, even to him, the one who had plunged into the situation with the damn idiot once it was apparent that he had been way above his head.

Still, a sour taste filled his mouth as he considered the position Makoto was in at the moment.

There was no doubt that he was isolated away from him and the rest of the Future Foundation members that inhabited the small island at the moment. He was probably locked into some distasteful room, with those damn handcuffs still tight around his wrists.

The sour taste in his mouth intensified at the memory of the handcuffs.

It had taken every inch of self-control that he had to not join in Aoi's protest when the handcuffs were ordered to be placed on Makoto. It took even more self-control to watch as the ruffian of the group attacked the bound man. He had inwardly cringed at each hit as it landed on the young man and it took a great deal of effort not to grab his gun and shoot a hole clear into the head of the distasteful ruffian.

But somehow he had made it through, with only the worry of making it worse for Makoto holding him back.

Now he was located in a small library alcove, hidden away from the rest of the island inhabitants. Originally, he had rationalized it as a way to gather his thoughts before the continuation of the trial, a way to prevent any wild comments from flying from him during the interrogation.

But he knew that was not reason he had truly hidden himself away from the rest.

One of his hands formed a tight fist as his thoughts darkened, pain and anger running through him as he did so.

He remembered the pain in Makoto's eyes as the Future Foundation leaders stared him down.

Makoto may not have said a word, but for those who had shared the hell of Hope's Peak Academy's killing game, it was easy to see how it had affected him.

It had pained Makoto to see how closed minded the Future Foundation had seemed to be. So focused were they in their goal, they had neglected the other options of ending the torment the Tragedy had created in the world. They had merely decided that death was the only option for ending the Remnants of Despair. This approach made sense to him of course, seeing the damage they had inflicted in first person, but not so much for Makoto. For the Ultimate Hope, the one who could see hope in everyone he met, such a harsh response must have struck him hard.

Perhaps that had been the hardest part of Makoto's arrest. The sight of pain in Makoto's green eyes as he realized just how blind the others were to the true meaning of his actions was truly the most heartbreaking part of the arrest.

He had never meant to betray the Future Foundation. He had only meant to do what he saw as being right.

A sad smile worked his way to his face at the thought, his fist relaxing as it appeared.

That was all Makoto had ever wanted in life, to do what he saw as being right. Even in their days as classmates before this mess had started, Makoto had striven to right the wrongs of the world in his own way. Whether it be defending someone who was weak or by trying to calm down fights between students before it happened, Makoto's focus seemed to be on trying to better the world he inhabited.

If only the Future Foundation could realize this.

Just like he had all those years ago.

He chuckled quietly to himself, a bittersweet emotion running through him.

If there was one thing that had caught his attention when it pertained to Makoto, it was his belief that everyone could be good if they tried. At first he had dismissed it as a piece of garbage spewed by the public masses to feel better about themselves.

No one could be truly good, he had believed in those days, as humans were too selfish to live in a so-called loving world that Makoto tried his hardest to create.

He still believed that, but Makoto's antics were still innocent enough to pull a smile from him whenever he tried it.

He hoped the day would never come that it stopped completely.

He laced his fingers together and placed his chin on it,the bittersweet feeling within him growing as he did so.

Makoto had such an unnatural grip on him.

It was honestly quite terrifying in a way. He was used to standing alone with no strings attached, paving his way through the world with only his mind and skills as a guide.

But of course Makoto had to go mess that up. It was just what he did to a person.

He instinctively broke down barriers between himself and other people. He was just one of his many victims.

The smile on his face soon melted into a slightly depressed one, one that could only be noticed if one could see the slight downturn of his face.

He wondered if Makoto remembered them.

It all seemed so distant at that moment, even if it had been scarcely three years since it had occurred.

He could remember some of those moments as clear as day though. They were his only means of sanity left in this terrible world, his own beacon of hope if you would.

He remembered having to help to Makoto in French and how he would mess with the young luckster by flirting with him in French, making the younger have to scramble to figure out what he said. Makoto would turn the most adorable shade of red once he he figured it out and would frantically say he was trying to study, but god was it worth it.

He remembered ducking into closets with him as they tried to escape the wrath of an angry Genocider Sho. If they had done other things in there while hiding… Well that was their business.

He remembered scrambling to study for his exams, the weight of the Togami Corporation's expectations on his head, only to feel a hand on his shoulder. He had looked up, only to see Makoto's smiling face as he held out a steaming cup of civet coffee to him.

He remembered that blissful dance they had together during the one dance that Makoto and Kyoko had dragged him to. He could still see the glittering lights that had filled the hall as they swirled around the room and could still feel Makoto's hands on his shoulder and in his hand as he taught him quickly how to waltz.

He remembered Makoto's soft lips on his as the world slowly shattered before their very eyes.

Yes, you guessed right, the esteemed Byakuya Togami, the heir to the Togami Corporation, had been in a relationship with the Ultimate Lucky Student, Makoto Naegi.

Had been being the key word there.

Of all the memories of his past to come back, his relationship with Makoto seemed to be one of the very last to come through. Whether it be a cruel twist of fate to deny him one of his rare happy memories or an act of angel to prevent him from feeling anymore loss, it was still the last thing to come back to him.

He had never found quite the right time to talk to Makoto about this, as they had been previously too busy performing missions or trying to protect the Remnants of Despair from the Future Foundation.

Besides, how could one casually bring up a former relationship when the other did not even remember said relationship?

He stifled a groan at this fact, still trying to conceal himself as best as he could.

It was his firm belief that Makoto either did not remember their relationship. Even if the luckster had moved on, he knew fully well that he would at least bring it up once to him, to bring closure at the very least.

Since he had not discussed it with him at all, or shown any signs of remembering, he could only conclude that the luckster did not remember their relationship.

The thought made him wince ever so slightly.

It seemed cruel for this entire mess to even occur.

Their future had seemed so hopeful all those years ago. The world was filled with light and hope, only for that light to be crushed brutally by the Tragedy. While hope remained, it was far more subdued, torn into pieces by the cruel reality of their situation.

They had once been Byakuya Togami and Makoto Naegi, two students in the esteemed Hope's Peak Academy's 78th class.

Now Makoto was the traitor to the Future Foundation and he was a bystander who could only watch from the sidelines as his former lover was put on trial for simply trying to fix the world in his own way.

What a cruel world they lived in-.

BOOM!

Suddenly though, a large explosion could be heard from just outside the tower. He jumped at the sound, shock coursing through his veins.

What on earth…?

He looked back out the window, his eyes now deadly focused on the scene outside the tower he was in.

The scene before him shocked him to the core.

Numerous flaming fireballs filled the sky, their trajectory showing that their target was indeed the island he was situated on.

His blood ran cold as he realized just what was going on.

They were under attack.

Instinctively, he turned from the window, quickly making his way out of his hiding place and allowing a cool demeanor to cover his inner turmoil.

Now was not the time to allow his mind to wander about the past.

Now was the time to make sure he kept whatever future lied before him.

The first thought in his mind was to head to the meeting room where he had been only a few hours ago. There was no doubt in his mind that everyone else in the tower would be located in there as they scrambled to create a defense for themselves.

He soon found himself in one of the large hallways of the tower he was currently in. He quickly ran through it to the room that he knew was located at the end of it.

As he made he way through though, the building continued to shake as the fireballs made impact on the island. With every shiver that ran through the building though, a familiar one ran through him.

Where were the rest of his classmates?

Yasuhiro.. Aoi… Kyoko….

Makoto.

He forced his worry to the back of his mind, knowing that he needed to focus on getting through this insanity.

To his relief, he soon saw the doors to the meeting room before him. He quickened his steps as he did so, pushing himself to reach the doors before one of the fireballs finally made contact with the tower itself.

As soon as he reached the door, he grabbed the handle and threw it open, quickly exposing himself to the scene inside of it.

It was a scene of chaos within the meeting room. A small group comprised of Chise Yukizome, Kyosuke Munakata, and Kensuo Tengen were gathered at the head of the table. Daisuke Bandai was frantically flicking through a screen with panic in his eyes, but the rest were standing to the side, examining the situation in silence.

He felt a bit of relief fill him as he noticed that Kyoko and Aoi were in the room as well, but Aoi's panicked face did little to calm his nerves. He looked around briefly only to see something that sent a chill down his spine.

Makoto was being held down on the ground by Sakakura.

For a moment, he stared at the sight of his former lover being held to the ground like some sort of common criminal. His blood began to boil at the sight but he forced himself to calm down.

He needed to focus on the issue at hand. He could not afford to fret over Makoto's situation.

He knelt down beside Makoto, keeping his voice low as he addressed his fellow classmate.

"Situation?"

For a second, he swore Makoto's eyes lit up as he saw him, but it was soon replaced with seriousness.

" It looks like all the exits are blocked as they were blown up by explosions. We are locked in apparently and Yukizome can not get contact with the outside." Makoto quickly informed him.

"It seems that we are trapped then." Kyoko summed up quickly, her eyes filled with cold resolve.

"Trapped?!" Aoi squeaked, fear in her eyes.

Gozu stepped up at that moment, spreading his arms out wide.

"Calm down. There are many leaders of the Future Foundation here. If we just stick together and work together we can-."

The man was soon cut off with a soft noise. The room went quiet as all eyes turned to the small silver ball rolling innocently on the floor. It suddenly stopped by Gozu's foot before it cracked open, releasing a giant volume of gas.

Immediately, the members of the room began to cover their mouths, their eyes wide.

"It's… Sleeping gas?! And it opens immediately?!" Kimura gasped

He quickly glanced around the room at her words, noticing immediately that she was right as members of the Future Foundation began dropping to the floor like flies.

"Makoto!"

The scream was out of his mouth before he could stop it. He frantically glanced around the room, searching in vain for his former lover.

"..Byakuya…"

He glanced down quickly, noting that Sakakura was already unconscious. To his relief, Makoto was still conscious, staring up at him in concern.

"Makoto…"

Makoto's eyelids drooped but he managed to make a weak smile up at him.

"Je t'aime Byakuya."

With that, the boy collapsed to the ground, the gas already taking it's toll on him.

He stared at the boy during the few seconds he had before the gas took its effect on him.

His last thought as the world went black was, _Makoto remembered._

* * *

He groaned as he stood up from the ground, his mind foggy. Blearily, he looked around the room, noting that the others were in a similar state of confusion and exhaustion.

He barely had time to question what had happened in his mind before he heard it.

"Upupupu!"

His head shot up at the sound and he could feel his blood freeze as he heard a familiar black and white bear speak on the screen before them.

No….

"Ahh It's been so long since I have seen your faces! How have you been?"

He heard Aoi choke from beside him.

"I… I know that voice!" she squeaked.

From the corner of his eye he saw that Kyoko herself had tensed as well as she stared up at the screen.

Said screen now showed the damn bear giggling, it's red eye glinting mischievously in the light of the room it was in."

"As long as Despair fills the land.. I, Monokuma, will always return!"

He could only stare at the bear in shock as horror filled his entire being.

No… Not again… It… It could not be! This was not the video game world, it was the real world.

The real world in which Junko Enoshima was dead.

Still, Monokuma stood before him as clear as day with a damn smirk on it's face.

"W-who are you?" Yukizome squeaked, her green eyes wide with surprise and fear.

"Let's just get straight into it okay? Leaders of the Future Foundation, you have gained my admiration for your efforts to protect this rotten world. You have sent the Remnants of Despair into a huge downfall. You have almost finished us off! So, in thanks for that, I have decided to allow you all to play a game… A killing game in fact!"

"No we will not."

His cold voice filled the room before he could stop it.

He felt the eyes of the entire room fall on him, but he found himself not caring. He forced himself to his feet as he stared down Monokuma, determined to stop the bear's plans before he could wreak havoc on the Future Foundation's leaders.

He had outlasted the bear twice already and he would be damned if he would not do it a third time.

"The Future Foundation is above your foolish game heathen. This game is meant for the lowest common denominator and simply put, it will not work" he growled.

To his surprise, the bear only laughed, it's red eye glowing as it did so.

"But Togami, it has already begun!"

He felt as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs at Monokuma's words. He opened his mouth to inquire just what the bear was talking about when Kyoko interrupted him.

"... Where's Makoto?"

His entire being froze as Kyoko's soft question filled the air. He quickly glanced to his side, where he had known Makoto had been lying moments before the gas had taken its toll on them.

It was empty.

Where was….

Suddenly, he was all too aware of a soft noise echoing in the room.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

He felt as if time had stopped as he steadily turned and saw a small puddle of blood staining the floor. He slowly moved his head up to the ceiling, praying to whatever being he could think of that the dark thought filling his head was false.

It was not.

He found himself staring at the empty green eyes of Makoto Naegi as his lifeless body swung softly on the chandelier above him. His body had been draped across the chandelier while his face was contorted in an expression of fear and horror. Blood fell down his face in streams from the giant gashes in his stomach, soon falling to the ground to form the puddle from before. His green eyes were wide with tears and blood due to this, giving a ghastly sight to those below him.

His mind went completely blank as he looked at the body above him, denial filling every inch of his body.

No... Not now.

Not when he had been so close to getting him back.

He was in such a state of shock that he barely registered Monokuma's following words.

"It seems that one of you is already at work! Have fun you guys!" the bear jeered.

As Monokuma said this, the chandelier chain snapped.

Just like his own heart had.

The chandelier plummeted to the ground, augmented by a strangled scream from Aoi as she finally saw who was on it

He barely felt Kyoko grab his arm to pull him away from the line of fire. All he could do was watch motionless as the chandelier fell to the ground.

Flashes of memories filled his mind as he watched his lover's body plummet to the ground, his heart aching as it did so.

 _Makoto was grinning at him on that very first day of school, holding out his hand for him to shake._

" _My name is Makoto Naegi."_

 _Makoto was chasing him with snowballs, his green eyes filled with joy and amusement as he managed to hit his coat._

" _Gotcha Togami!"_

 _Makoto smiled up at him nervously, holding out a single red rose._

" _Happy Valentines Day Byakuya."_

 _Makoto gripped his hand tightly in his as they prepared to step out into the new world from Hope's Peak Academy. He smiled up at him warmly, almost radiating hope._

" _I told you we would get out of here together Togami."_

He smiled bitterly as he made eye contact with his love's corpse as the chandelier hit the ground, barely noticing the tear falling down his face as he did so.

"Je t'aime aussi Makoto."

* * *

 **So... Guess who saw the first episode of the Future Arc?**

Okay, so I know I promised that the next chapter of Let the Game Begin would be up this week and I have started on it, don't worry, it will be done this week.

But then I saw this episode.

Without many more spoilers than the ones I have used, all I can say is that the ending truly hit me in the heart. Call me whatever but I did find myself caring for the character who did end up dying. Plus the tension and drama in the room afterwards seriously got my creative juices running and I knew i had to write something for it, (even if I am a bit salty that Togami isn't in it -_-)

So here I am less than 24 hours after watching the episode to present you with this fic. Consider it a present for my month absence.

I hope you all enjoyed it ;)

(P.s. I know this is unnecessary mostly but just in case...

Je t'aime Byakuya - I love you Byakuya

Je t'aime aussi Makoto - I love you too Makoto)


	2. Makoto Naegi

He stared up down at the table in front of him silently, his hands twitching ever so slightly in his handcuffs as he slouched in his chair. The room he was in was silent, minus the slight humming from Yukizome as she went about trying to clean the meeting room they were currently in.

He wondered how he had ended up here.

It seemed to be decades ago that he had received that fateful invitation to attend Hope's Peak Academy.

He had been so ecstatic at the invitation at the time. Yes, his talent at the time had been slightly odd, but he had not dared to push away his opportunity to study at the school he had admired for so long. He had proudly entered the hallways on the first day, ready to begin what had seemed to be a bright future.

What a fool he had been.

When he had entered the hallways of Hope's Peak Academy, he never expected what chaos lied in front of him. He had never thought for a second that he was soon about to embark on a journey filled with endless death and heartbreaking tragedies, all leading up to his arrest as a traitor to the Future Foundation and a likelihood of being executed by said organization.

Somehow though, he held no regrets for any of his actions that led him to this point in his life. He fully believed that the decisions he had made in his life up to this moment were the right ones.

He could understand how his recent actions looked though.

He may have been released from Hope's Peak Academy during the later part of the Tragedy, but that did not mean that he was blind to the effects it had on the world.

Quite the contrast actually.

One of the first things he had seen once coming out of the academy was the devastation surrounding the academy. The destruction of the once beautiful city had stunned him to the core. Streets once bustling with cars and pedestrians now lay empty of all signs of life. Instead, they were filled with the remnants of destroyed buildings, rubble and mysterious red stains that seemed to be far more common than he would have preferred.

It had stunned him to the core to see the scene before him. Yes, he had seen the videos that Junko had played for him and the other survivors during the final trial, but that did not prepare him in the slightest for the destruction that lied before him. It had seemed like something out of one of the action movies that he had dragged Kyoko and Byakuya too in lighter times.

It had broken his heart to see it.

He could still remember how life used to be. He could remember how bright the world had used to be, with bright skies and laughter and joy that seemed to fill the air every day as millions of people lived through their daily lives in peace. It seemed to be

Where was that world, he had wondered, staring out at the world he now inhabited.

Sure, he and the others had been escorted away from the streets almost immediately after leaving the academy, but the initial destruction he had witnessed haunted him still. Even now, his nightmares had a habit of bringing him back there, dooming him to witnessing the horror all over again.

But while it had brought him pain, it had also brought him resolve.

He had sworn that day that he would never let the world continued the path that had led to such devastation. No matter what, he would strive to prevent the world from falling into more chaos.

It was this decision that led him to joining the Future Foundation.

It had seemed so perfect at the time. He had just made a decision to help save the world and here was a organization that did just that offering him and place in their ranks.

It had seemed almost too good to be true.

And in some ways it really was.

Initially, he had been completely on board with the Future Foundation. He had given his full heart and soul into helping the organization succeed in its goals. He had done whatever they had asked of him, from helping file reports to going on missions to help save any innocents caught in the crossfire.

It was during one of these missions that he had his first encounter with THEM.

It had been a routine mission. He had been sent with some other lower ranked Future Foundation members to gather some survivors in Osaka. He had been wandering the streets, searching quickly to see if he could find any lone survivors in the ghost city that Osaka had turned into.

It was during this search that he saw Him.

He had not known who the young man in front of him really was at the time. He had believed that he was another survivor of the Tragedy, one that urgently needed aid from the Future Foundation.

So, he had run forward, calling out to the figure before him.

"Hey! You! Are you a survivor?!"

The figure slowly turned to face him at his words, though he did not speak as he did so. He had been a male that looked to be only a year older than he was. His long dark hair was so long, it seemed to partially hide his face from his sight, preventing him from truly getting a look at the young man before him.

Still, he was able to see the small smile on the young man's face as he caught sight of him.

"Yes. I am." the figure said simply.

He sighed in relief at the boy's words. Cheerfully, he reached out a hand to the boy, not realizing the set of events he was about to set off.

"My name is Makoto Naegi, Future Foundation Brach 14. I am here to help you." he informed him.

The boy's smile grew, but he had been too oblivious to see the darkness in it.

" I am sure you will Naegi."

He had carelessly led the boy to the Future Foundation helicopter, allowing him to join the ranks of those rescued by the Future Foundation.

Soon after him, the boy had been followed by other mysterious figures similar to him. They had been such an odd bunch. A yakuza member, breeder, dancer, musician, photographer, chef, swordswoman, trainer, mechanic, nurse, athlete, princess, and even a luckster .

No one initially saw a problem with them. They were quiet and kept to themselves, not causing much trouble for the other survivors or the Future Foundation.

It had been Kyoko and Byakuya that had gotten suspicious first.

For some reason, those two had been the first to get back their memories of their school days. While Aoi, Toko, Yasuhiro, and he had been scrambling to remember certain parts of their school lives, somehow those two had been able to recall specifics of any memory they had been questioned about.

Perhaps it was their discipline or their own brand of luck that gave them the memory they had, but somehow the duo were able to realize exactly who the people they had found were.

However, Kyoko and Byakuya had chosen not to inform the higher ups of this initially, worried that if they were wrong, they would be punished for such a terrible mess up. So instead, they turned to one other person.

Himself.

" _Makoto, a word please?"_

 _He looked up from his desk at the sound of his friend's voice, a smile immediately lighting up his face when he caught sight of his two friend's outside his door._

" _For you guys? Sure!" he replied._

 _Byakuya merely nodded and sat himself down by his desk, a bored look on his face like usual, but Kyoko managed a small smile for him as she moved inside the room and closed the door behind of her.._

" _Thank you Makoto. This may seem like an odd question but… How good is your memory of our school days?" she questioned._

 _Looking back, he could swear that Byakuya had flinched at the question, but at the time he had been too busy trying to figure out why Kyoko wanted to know the status of his memory at such a random time to notice._

" _Um… It's alright. I can not think of many specifics but I have a decent grip on certain things. Why do you ask Kyoko?" he replied._

 _Kyoko frowned at the response._

" _Me and Byakuya have come across a certain issue in terms of some of the recent survivors. Tell me Makoto, what do you know of the 77th Class of Hope's Peak Academy?"_

 _He blinked at her, an uncomfortable feeling welling up within him at the thought of Kyoko and Byakuya discussing a topic without him. He quickly shook off the weird feeling though, knowing that now was not the time to dwell on such things._

 _He instead but his mind to work trying to recall the class above his, a class that eerily included all of the strange survivors they had recently grabbed._

 _All of them but the long haired one._

" _I remember that they were an odd bunch of people, even by Hope's Peak standards. Their behavior led them to be slightly ostracized from the rest of the Ultimates, but they seemed harmless enough." he answered._

 _Byakuya rolled his eyes at his answer and leaned forward to address him. Somehow, this motion caused his heart to speed up slightly._

" _What if we told you that we believe they are the people who helped Junko destroy the world to the level it is now?" He asked._

 _He blinked at his friend, complete shock coming over him._

" _.. Wait.. What?!" he choked out._

 _Kirigiri shot a glare at Byakuya, but her gaze softened as she turned to him._

" _From what me and Byakuya have figured out from our memories, we believe it was the 77th class of Hope's Peak Academy that was behind the beginning of the Tragedy, as well as being responsible for continuing its effects."_

" _..What made you think this?" he questioned softly_

 _Kyoko shook her head._

" _They all disappeared soon after the tragedy began, which would not be suspicious if their behavior had not been highly irregular compared to what they had been in the beginning of the year."_

" _In addition," Byakuya interrupted, " I find their behavior and appearances to be similar to what is now referred to in the Future Foundation as the Remnants of Despair."_

 _He raised an eyebrow at the term, having not heard of it before._

" _Remnants of Despair?" he echoed._

 _Kyoko nodded at this, a dark look on her face._

" _That is the official term for them. They are people who have performed thousands of murders in some way, shape or form. All in the name of Junko Enoshima and Despair."_

" _Their methods of killing varies in scale. In the case of two of them specifically the Ultimate Princess and Yakusa, they have the wealth and manpower to command an army or legion to follow their orders. One of them, the mechanic I believe, created a giant Monokuma robot, most likely the one we saw from the scenes shown to us by Enoshima in the last class trial. Then there is the breeder who has an army of deadly animal and… Well you get the picture, they are capable of dark deeds that they will willingly do in order to bring more despair in Junko's name." Byakuya added._

 _He felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head at their words._

 _It should not have surprised him as much as it did, as he knew first hand just how persuasive Junko had been. Still, at the time, he had been shocked to the core at the idea of such soldiers of despair._

 _He racked his brain for any memories of the 77th class, of any memories he could have of them that could connect them to the soldiers of despair that Kyoko and Byakuya were describing. After a short while, he did find some memories of the 77th class._

 _But they did not seem anything like the monsters he was being told they were._

 _When he thought of the 77th class, the image of a tall blond giggling as she talked with a dark hairs man hiding in his scarf while sporting several hamsters on his shoulders as a pinked haired boy glared from around the corner came to mind. He could also see a small blond girl tugging along a nervously smiling red headed girl while a clearly stuttering dark haired girl followed her. Then, he saw a tall dark-haired girl with crazy brown hair chatting happily with an boy dressed in a tracksuit. Finally, he saw a white haired man chatting with a tired looking pink-haired girl and a brown haired boy in a different color suit._

 _He just saw normal students a a high school._

 _He tightened his hands into fists at the thought._

 _That was what they were. They were simply normal students who had gotten poisoned by Junko's influence._

 _He knew what the Future Foundation would do if they caught the Remnants of Despair though. They would not care about whatever happened in these students pasts or how Junko had manipulated them. No, they would just execute the students with no questions asked, allowing these sixteen poor souls to rot forever due to one girl's wrongful influence._

 _That would be the true tragedy in this mess._

 _Killing the Remnants of Despair would allow despair to win over hope. It would signal that those sixteen students were beyond hope, too consumed by despair to ever gain hope._

 _But that was not what he believed._

 _These students were not beyond the point of no return. They were not always filled with despair and just because they were now, did not mean they always would be._

 _It was then that he got an idea that would change the course of his future._

" _... I want to save them."_

 _Kyoko raised an eyebrow at his words as Byakuya's eyes widened in surprise._

" _Pardon me ?!"_

 _He looked back up at his friends, determination clear in his eyes._

" _I want to save the Remnants of Despair."_

Not surprisingly, Kyoko and Byakuya were initially against his idea. They spent hours trying to talk him out of his idea by lecturing him about how dangerous these people were.

But he had refused to budge.

He knew in his gut that the Remnants of Despair were people that were worth the effort. They were victims of despair, not perpetrators of it.

And he would save them, even if it was the last thing he would do.

To his surprise, Byakuya was the one who came around to his idea first. He finally snapped after five hours of arguing, turning to Kyoko and saying that he was not going to budge and they might as well go along with it to decrease the mistakes he surely would make. Kyoko had not been pleased, but she reluctantly agreed to the plot.

The plans were made in secret and executed slowly. Byakuya bought the island quickly and he and Kyoko set to work designing the simulation from leftover coding Chihiro had made while he was still alive. Though, set to work in Byakuya's case meant sending a team of scientists to help them for the code and prepare the codes.

He, on the other hand, had the job of catching all of the Remnants of Despair.

It was a simple enough task. All he had to do was convince sixteen mass murderers to follow him onto a boat under the guise of taking them to a new island.

Yes, you read that right, sixteen.

At the very last second, he decided to include the long haired boy he had initially found, deciding that it would be smart to include the boy he, himself had found. He did not know how he knew it at the time, but at the time, he had a sudden feeling that he should be in the plan as well.

Before he did so, he did do some recon on the boy, just to justify the feeling he had that the boy also had something to do with this mess.

What he saw only solidified this thought.

The boy seemed to be the leader of the group. They all turned to him for instructions and ideas and followed his word like it was the law.

If they followed him with such obedience, it would make sense that he was one of the Remnants of Despair, and a highly considered one at that.

To his surprise though, the entire group had gone along with it easily, almost easily. At the time, he had thought that he had truly tricked them into falling into his trap.

It would be only a few days later that he realized that it was actually him who had fallen into their trap.

He should have realized that there had to be a sort of underlying goal underneath their compliance.

Especially HIS.

" _What do you want us to do Mr. Naegi?"_

 _He barely held back a shiver as the long haired boy spoke. Still, he forced himself to keep a smile on his face as turned to the group of students behind him and gestured to the pods lying innocently on the ground._

" _It is a new treatment from the Future Foundation! It is designed to help all of you recover your strength that you may have lost during the Tragedy. All you have to do is lie down into it and let us strap you in." he informed him_

 _The long haired boy nodded at this and motioned the rest of the group forward. Like zombies, they moved forward and obediently slipped into a pod, allowing the scientists to strap them in easily._

 _Only the boy remained, staring at him with such an intense gaze that his skin visibly grew goosebumps._

" _Umm...Yes?" he questioned._

 _The boy suddenly smiled, showing off shark like teeth._

" _Thank you Makoto."_

 _With that, he swept past him, slipping into his pod with ease. He watched as the boy was obediently strapped into the pod, his dark gaze focused on him as the scientists strapped him in._

 _Soon though, the pods were activated, sending all the occupants of the pods into a comatose state._

 _He shakily let out the breath he had not realized he been holding as the pods were activated._

 _It was fine, he told himself, they would be saved from their despair once the simulation began and they lived out their school lives the way they were meant to be._

 _With hope in their hearts._

 _To his surprise, he soon found a gentle hand grabbing his wrist. He turned quickly at the motion, only to blink quickly as he caught sight of Byakuya's blue eyes hovering just above his head. He jumped, instinctively moving away from his friend._

 _A flash of pain filled his friend's face for a millisecond, but he saw it nonetheless. Guilt filled him at this and he gently reached for Togami's hand._

" _Hey I'm sor-."_

 _Byakuya cut him off with a scoff, his face returned to its natural bored expression._

" _I do not need an apology Naegi. Now come on, we need to go upstairs and begin the simulation."_

 _With that, the heir turned on his heel and began marching up the steps, leaving him to scramble up the steps in his wake._

" _H-hey wait up Byakuya! Don't move so fast!"_

And so began an a series of weeks in which his life was turned upside down once more.

Only this time, it was not just because of Junko.

True, the two reasons for the turmoil was indeed Junko, but her influence was different in each one.

The main reason showed up within a day of the simulation being up

 _He stared at the screen in horror as he saw the familiar black and white bear pop up on the screen. Beside him, he could hear Kyoko's soft gasp and the sound of Byakuya choking on his cup of coffee._

" _W-What the hell?! How the hell did he get into the simulation?!" Byakuya screeched, his accusing gaze turning to the confused and startled scientists in the room with him._

" _I-I do not know sir! It's origins are from a virus uploaded to the system a few hours ago." a nervous scientist informed him._

 _Kyoko frowned at that and walked over to her, irritation clear in her eyes._

" _So you knew there was a virus in the system and did not try and cleanse it. Such a great move." she stated sarcastically._

 _The scientist shook her head, her nerves clearly showing at the sight of Kyoko's irritation._

" _No! The virus was just noticed now, we have no idea who could have put it in!" she stated._

 _Byakuya rolled his eyes as he strode over to the scientists, his own anger clear on his face._

" _What type of imbeciles are you?! How on earth did you not know someone uploaded a virus to the mainframe?!" he demanded._

 _The arguments went on as Kyoko and Byakuya tried to figure out the origins of the virus. He, on the other hand, turned to face the pods, his eyes focused on one in particular._

 _His._

Now that was the major headache of the time as Kyoko, Byakuya, and himself scrambled to find a way to cleanse the system of her influence. Kyoko and Byakuya were both clueless for once at this situation, both unsure about how her AI had been inputted in the system.

But deep down, he knew who it was who did it.

Izuru Kamakura, or Hajime Hinata in the simulation.

The leader of the Remnants of Despair.

He found himself glaring at the man's pod once in an while as he worked, mentally damning the man for even putting him in this situation as he worked.

An agent of despair certainly fit that man's description.

Still, despite the constant headaches and panic he had as he tried to fix the game, it all was worth it for the small bouts of hope the group showed as the game turned steadily worse. It put a weak sort of smile on his face to see the progress they were making on their road to redemption.

But, as they worked to save the simulation and the students now trapped in the game, a new issue came up.

His memories.

Somehow, working with the computer game and seeing the students in their original form helped set off his own memories. Endless memories seemed to come flooding back to him, revealing previously hidden parts of his life.

Including one part in particular.

His relationship with Byakuya.

His face heated up at the thought of those memories, a blush lighting up his face even now as he thought of those blissful days with the heir.

It was still slightly hard to conjure up specific memories, but the running themes in all of them was joy and the feeling of loving and being loved in return.

When he focused though, he could see these themes in action.

He could remember cuddling up to Byakuya while watching horror movies and hiding his face in his suit when the scary parts came on.

He could remember trying to teach the other how to bake cookies and how the heir simply gave up after five minutes and just stole bits of the cookie dough when he thought the luckster was not looking.

He could remember spending endless afternoons in the library, quietly working on homework as the heir pursued yet another novel in the extravagant library.

He could remember tripping over his feet as Byakuya tried to teach him how to waltz at the one dance he was able to get the guy to go with him.

He could remember holding his hand as the world self-destructed before their very eyes.

He sighed at the memories, a dull ache filling his chest at the thought of them.

He honestly had no idea how to even handle the whole situation with Togami, even now. There was no doubt in his mind that Byakuya remembered their relationship as well as he knew how well Byakuya was at recovering his memories.

The main question on his mind though was, did Byakuya feel the same way about him still?

He knew that he himself did feel the same way still about the heir. He had admired the way the heir had been able to keep his wits about him, even with Monokuma's mind games, during the killing game. This admiration had soon turned into a small crush as the duo spent more time together during their time as Future Foundation members.

But he had no clue how the heir felt about him.

Sure, Byakuya had been nicer to him since they had left the academy, but that could be attributed to the friendship they had formed in the academy during the killing game.

So, he had decided to just keep the matter silent, especially since at the time, they had bigger issues to deal with.

Though, he had to admit he had been way too happy to see that Byakuya had come into the game after him to help him save the survivors of the simulation.

But after the game came to an end, a entirely different issue came back up.

Future Foundation.

Despite his efforts to delay the inevitable, the Future foundation quickly found out about his actions regarding the Remnants of Despair. Mainly e-mails had been sent to him to turn them over, some coming in as early as a few days after the simulation was started.

He had desperately tried to convince them that his actions were not done as a sign of treason, but as a way to help end the influence of Junko once and for all. He tried to tell them that the Remnants of Despair were victims of Junko, not criminals.

He knew he had failed the minute he received the order to come to the island to discuss his actions.

Now he was stuck in a meeting room, handcuffed and awaiting his inevitable execution by the Future Foundation.

Somehow though, he held no regrets. There was nothing he would change about his life.

He fought for what he believed in and he would die knowing he at least brought some hope back to this destroyed world.

Suddenly though, a giant explosion rocked the tower. He sat up straight, frantically looking around the room for the cause of it as Yukizome froze in shock. Sadly however, there was no windows in the room he and Yukizome were in, so he could not figure out anything.

That is, until Munakata burst in.

The white haired man initially looked as composed as he usually was as he came into the room. However, there was a sense of urgency in his eyes as he looked at the duo.

"Yukizome, you and Naegi are to follow me to the meeting room. It seems the tower is under attack." he ordered coldly.

Yukizome started at this but she quickly nodded at the order. Meanwhile, he could only stare at Munakata in shock.

The tower was… under attack?

Still in shock, he was silent as he was led by the duo to the control room, where Tengen, Gozu, and Sakakura were waiting. Immediately, Munakata went up to them and they began making plans to figure out the situation. As they did so, the other leaders wandered in and he was ordered to be restrained by Sakakura just in case he tried to escape.

Escape was the last thing on his mind as he tried to figure out how this was going on, but he still complied with the restraint and was therefore forced to kneel on the ground.

To his relief though, Kyoko and another Future Foundation leader arrive in the room, though his relief is short lived as Aoi soon bursts in after them, announcing that the security guards were found dead in the bathroom.

His mind whirls with all of this new information as he tried to figure out what exactly this all means. He tries to figure out who could be behind this, but his mind comes up with nothing.

He soon notices that Kyoko kneels down beside him, but as soon as she opens her mouth to speak to him, a new person steps into the room.

Byakuya.

Somehow, he feels some sort of calm come over him at the sight of his former boyfriend. Byakuya's presence was a relief, even if his blue eyes flared with anger at the sight of his restraint. Still, the heir kneels down beside him calmly, his face set with grim determination.

"Situation?"

He looked up at his friend, hoping his inner panic did not show on his face.

" It looks like all the exits are blocked as they were blown up by explosions. We are locked in apparently and Yukizome can not get contact with the outside." he quickly informed him.

"It seems that we are trapped then." Kyoko replied, her face stone cold as she spoke.

"Trapped?!" Aoi squeaked, fear in her eyes.

He winced at her fear and wished he could do something to calm her, but somehow he knew this was out of his reach.

Gozu stepped up at that moment, spreading his arms out wide.

"Calm down. There are many leaders of the Future Foundation here. If we just stick together and work together we can-."

The man was soon cut off with a soft noise. The room went quiet as all eyes turned to the small silver ball rolling innocently on the floor. It suddenly stopped by Gozu's foot before it cracked open to his horror, releasing a giant volume of gas.

Immediately, the members of the room began to cover their mouths, panic clear on their faces

"It's… Sleeping gas?! And it opens immediately?!" Seiko Kimura gasped.

He felt his eyes widen at the announcement. Still, he could already feel the gas come over him as he was the lowest out of all of the to the ground. He soon felt the beginnings of exhustion come over him and he felt his eyelids begin to fall.

That's when he heard it.

"Makoto!"

He looked up learily, noting that Byakuya was now standing, his eyes wide as he frantically scanned the room for him as he held his sleeve to his mouth.

Somehow, he managed a weak smile at this.

"..Byakuya…"

Byakuya quickly looked down at this, relief clear in his gaze as he turned to him.

"Makoto…"

He felt his weak smile grow at his former boyfriend's voice. Somehow, it gave him the strength to say the one thing he had been meaning to tell the blond since he got his memories back.

"Je t'aime Byakuya."

The world went black around him as soon as he spoke, but the last thing he saw was the look of surprise on Byakuya's face.

He groaned as he woke up, dizziness coming over him as he tried to take in his surroundings. He slowly made his way to his knees, his vision slowly coming into focus as he looked around.

He was still in the meeting room, but it seemed like he was the only one who was awake. He glanced around the room, noting that everyone from Kyoko to Munakata were asleep.

What on earth was…

Then he saw it.

A lone figure stood before him, their face hidden by a large Monokuma mask, preventing him from identifying them. In their hand was a knife, half hidden in their sleeves with the edge facing him.

There was no doubt in his mind what the figure intended to do to him.

He quickly leapt to his feet, his eyes going wide as he quickly took a step away from the figure.

"W-who are you?!" he demanded.

The figure said nothing in reply, instead choosing to walk forward slowly.

He gulped at this and continued to back away from the figure, only to trip on a body behind of him. He looked at it instinctively, trying to figure out who had stumbled on.

He froze as he caught sight of Byakuya's sleeping face. Immediately, he got to his feet and backed away from the heir in an attempt to keep the killer away from him.

Unfortunately that only solidified his own fate.

A cold hand grabbed his shoulder as he backed away, whirling him around to face them.

The red eye on their mask seemed to gleam brightly as he felt the knife impale himself in his stomach.

For a moment the mere shock of it all prevented him from feeling the pain of the knife blade. He staggered away from his killer, staring down at the knife embedded in his stomach with horror.

"W...Wha…" he choked out.

The figure in front of him said nothing still, instead leaning forward and yanking the knife from his gut and forcing it back into his stomach.

This time however, he felt the immense pain of the wound. A strangled scream escaped his mouth at the motion as he collapsed to the ground clutching the wound.

Dots spread across his face as he slowly felt his body begin to shut down. Desperately, he looked around himself, desperately trying to distract himself from the thought of, O _h my god I am dying._

His gaze was going black once more as his eyes finally fell on Byakuya.

Another ache joined the pain he felt from his wounds, though this one came from his heart.

This.. This was not supposed to happen.

Not now.. Not ever.

He was supposed to help save the world from hope…

He was supposed to save his family and friends from the despair that wrecked their world.

He was supposed save Byakuya from the cruelness of it all.

He felt tears prick at his eyes as he slowly summoned all the strength he could muster and outstretched a hand to Byakuya.

"... I… am… sorry...B… Byakuya…" he murmured.

Then the world went black around him one last time.

* * *

 **So, in honor of the Despair Arc being aired today, I bring you all the second chapter to this story that absolutely no one asked for. xD.**

I am sorry but I had this idea while talking with a fellow DanganRonpa fan and it bugged me until I wrote it. Don't ask me how this ended up over 2k words more than the previous chapter, I have no idea. Somehow I have been having a liking for tragic!Naegami lately. Add in my habit of putting way too much plot into these things and you have this mess of words.

(Honestly though, would anyone believe me if I said I had a fluffy fic for these two involving pillow forts and small adopted kids in progress?)

In regards to the quick lapse during the attack scene, I gave a more generalized version this time as this scene was seen in the anime and last chapter added in the part changed by Byakuya's inclusion so I figured it would be better to give more of a summary during that part while changing the last part to Makoto's PoV.

In regards of further updating from me, Let the Game Begin WILL be updated by tomorrow afternoon and I have two upcoming projects in progress for these dorks so look forward to that. :)

Thanks to everyone who left a review or favorite. I really appreciate it.:)


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